Oude vrouw in profiel naar rechts 1638 - 1697

This brown ink drawing of an old woman in profile was made by Constantijn Huygens the Younger in the Dutch Republic, sometime in the latter half of the 17th century. The drawing is an intimate portrayal of aging, and its social value lies in the tension between the visibility and invisibility of older people. The woman’s worn face and tired posture are rendered with a great deal of realism, yet her social identity remains unclear. Is she a family member, a servant, or simply a passerby who caught the artist's eye? In the Dutch Golden Age, representations of the elderly were relatively common, and the subject's social class would often be legible through their attire and accoutrements. The meaning of this image for its original audience would have been shaped by widely held assumptions about the social roles and value of older people. As art historians, we can draw on demographic records, costume inventories, and conduct manuals to better understand this cultural context and the public role of art in shaping social attitudes.